"Aya, it's okay," the voice was saying. "It's Zac and Sam. We've come to get you out of here." There was a hard impact to the air and the face looked away towards the source.
"Shit," said the other figure. "Gabby is losing her hold on the vampire. We don't have much time."
She knew something bad was happening, but she didn't care. It would be so easy to close her eyes and let the darkness take her again, but the hands pulled her face back up.
"Aya, please. We need you. Come back."
She blinked hard, grimacing, her vision clearing slightly, "Zac?"
"Yes," the voice was relieved. "Can I let you go now?" Weakly, she nodded and the chains began to loosen. "You look like hell, Aya."
"Very perceptive, Mr. Degaud," she muttered, trying to smile. The chains had fallen away, but the hooks were still embedded. Grimacing, she reached down and pulled the annoying pieces of steel from her ankles, blood now free to gush unhindered.
"Shit, let me do that," he pulled her close, bracing her with one hand while the other traced the length of her arm. She hissed through her teeth as he slid the meat hooks from her wrists one at a time. Her blood was everywhere, but the wounds began to heal enough to stop the flow. Collapsing back into Zac's arms she sighed deeply, gazing up into his eyes, her fingers tracing the soft edge of his jaw. He'd come for her... No. They'd come for her. She let her hand drop limply, squeezing her eyes closed.
"You've lost a lot of blood. You need to feed," he said, his brow creased in concern.
"No,” she said, shaking her head.
"It's okay, Aya. I want you to," Zac pulled her closer.
"The vampire is still outside," Sam said. "Gabby won't be able to keep it up for much longer."
"Gabby?" Aya said vaguely, like she was trying to remember who she was.
"Yes, Gabby."
Her eyes widened and she snarled, "Caius."
Before Zac could ask any questions, Aya grabbed the hair at the back of his head, wrenching it to the side, exposing his neck. He gasped in surprise at the sudden pain as she sunk her fangs in. Pushing him to the ground, she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and was across the room and outside before they could react.
Aya was a little impressed. When she emerged from the silo, she saw Gabby mere inches from Caius' most fearsome vampire face. All fangs and black eyes. She was staring him down, holding him in place with her will, moments from death. She'd finally found her true powers.
Walking up to her, Aya placed her hand on Gabby's shoulder and Caius' simultaneously, breaking the spell. As he stumbled forward, the force in her outstretched arm brought him to a stop. Gabby gasped, blinking wildly and scrambled backwards out of the way. Sam was there, grabbing her around the waist, hauling her to a safe distance.
Aya held Caius' shoulders, pushing against him as he reached up and grasped hers in return. They were face to face, their foreheads touching.
"You will never win against me, witch," he threatened, the grunt in his voice betraying the fact that he was using all of his strength to hold her back.
"That's where you're wrong, Caius," she snarled in return. "I have skills you've never seen."
"You'll never get the chance to use them, witch."
Abruptly, Aya shifted her weight down slightly, ramming her shoulder into his stomach. He had been pushing against her so hard, that the forward motion sent him flying across the yard behind her. She heard the bang as he collided with the wall of the silo.
He scrambled to his feet with a snarl and rushed her, knocking her off her feet with the force of the blow. Twisting to the side, she rolled out of the way of Caius' boot, narrowly missing a blow to her ribs. On her feet behind him, she punched his spine, aiming to snap it, but he twisted to the side at the last second. She cried out in pain as his elbow came back to meet her jaw, which made an audible crunch as it shattered.
Turning, Caius' hands grasped empty air. Aya was on his back, an arm around his neck, her hand on his face. She wrenched with all her strength trying to snap his spine, but he threw her over his shoulder. Landing heavily, her eyes widened as Caius' bulky form loomed over her. They were evenly matched in strength and skill and could be here for hours at this rate.
Grabbing her around the neck with one hand, Caius picked her up off the ground and let out a deep rumbling laugh. A look of triumph was plastered across his face as he began to squeeze, cutting off her air supply. Instinctively, she clawed at his hand, trying to free herself.
In the corner of her vision, she saw Sam and Zac approaching in Caius' blind spot. They would be torn apart if they tried anything.
"Stay back!" she yelled at the brothers, holding her palm out.
Caius laughed, "Once I'm done with you, whore, they'll be next. Won't be much of a challenge, but they will beg me to kill them all the same."
She felt a familiar twist of rage building inside of her and closing her eyes, she called for it. Reaching up, she grasped Caius' wrist, a familiar burning sensation travelling up her arms like thousands of electric shocks. Opening her eyes, a blue glow surrounded them, popping and fizzing, making the air thick with the tangy scent of burning copper. Caius' eyes widened in surprise as the blue energy travelled down her arms and began to crawl over his forearm.
Aya had never felt her power stronger than this, the biting taste for revenge was overpowering. This man, this vampire, had been responsible for her family’s death and her torture and imprisonment. He would die like the others. At the mercy of her rage.
As the fire began to travel down his arm, Caius gasped in pain and dropped her. She fell to her knees for a moment before getting up, using the upward force to push the air from his lungs with a hard jab from both palms into his gut. He doubled over, clutching his stomach. For a split second he was disorientated and it was all it took for Aya to plunge her hand into his chest.
Clutching his still beating heart in her right hand, she clasped his shoulder with her left, her lips to his ear. "This is for my family," she whispered and poured all her rage into him.
He gasped and clawed at her hand, but he was already turning grey, his skin withering, crackling with the strange electricity. Only when his heart finally collapsed in on itself, the ash falling through her fingers, did she push him off her onto the ground. Staring down at his corpse, she didn't feel anything. The burning rage had left her and she was empty.
She was vaguely aware of Gabby and the brothers hovering at the edge of her vision. Now she would have to explain herself to them. They weren't meant to see what she could do, she hadn't used this part of herself since... It had been two thousand years. She suddenly felt very far away and it was only adrenalin that was keeping her on her feet. She closed her eyes and wished them away.
There was a comforting hand on her arm. "Aya." It was Zac. Of course it was him.
Looking up at him she saw the expression of awe written on his face. Glancing at Sam and Gabby revealed their mingled awe and fear. At least they were smart. Zac should be afraid of her. She wondered if she should compel him again. Compel them all to forget how she had killed Caius, but she doubted it would work now. She was done.
When she didn't respond, Zac put his arm around her waist, guiding her away from the yard to his car that was parked back towards the road. Sam hovered behind to dispose of Caius, as she was put in the back, the seat belt fastened for her. Gabby sat beside her and clasped her hand, the brothers in the front. Gazing blankly out of the window into the night she managed to whisper, "Thank you."
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
The early morning air was heavy against Aya's skin as she sat in the garden. The manor grounds hadn't been tended to in a long time. They were wild and green, full of flowers that tended themselves despite the moisture of the swamp, shaded by the long branches of whispering willows. Usually, she would just enjoy being here, but today her thoughts were troubled. It had been several days since the brothers and Gabby had freed her from the silo; several days since she had killed Caius. She'd
come one step closer to what she'd pledged to do, but in doing so, she'd done the one thing she shouldn't have. She'd drunk Zac's blood.
She looked up as Sam sat down beside her and wondered what question he was going to ask first. The air was silent around the manor, which meant Zac had gone somewhere else. She didn’t want to deal with his questions today.
"How are you doing?" he asked, taking in her faraway look. Predictable and such a Sam question.
Aya shrugged, "After all the time he's spent hunting me, you'd think I'd be glad he's dead. But, I don't really feel anything."
She felt his apprehension as he asked the next burning question. "In the silo, you thought Zac was your brother?"
"It was an hallucination," she said, curtly.
"What happened to him?"
"He was slaughtered in his sleep," she spat at him. "Do you want a play by play?"
"No, I'm sorry. It's just, you're a hard person to read," he sighed, fidgeting with the hem of his shirt. "Who was Caius exactly?"
"He was one of the first vampires. One of the family called the Romans," Aya said matter of factly.
"And how old are they, these Romans?"
"Not much older than I," she shrugged. "Maybe a year or two, I'm not sure."
"Why are they called the Romans? Where did they come from?"
Aya sighed at the barrage of questions. They would ask them eventually, best to get it out the way. Besides, she'd rather talk to Sam about this. He was much more understanding than Zac and at least he would stop when he knew he couldn’t get any further. "They were part of the Roman armies that invaded Britain around 43AD. I don't know much about their human lives other than one was a high-ranking officer, others foot soldiers, lower ranking officers. I suppose they all wanted what most humans want."
"And what's that?"
"Power. Immortality.”
Sam nodded, agreeing to a point. "And what did you do to Caius? To kill him?"
"I stole his light," she said, referring to the story in Gabby's grimore, reluctant to explain further.
"Aya, I don't understand. It was magic, wasn't it?" he asked, confused, almost desperate for answers.
"Sam, that's the one thing I cannot explain to you," she said seriously. "I am indebted to you for coming to free me, but this. This, I cannot give you."
He stared at her for a moment and deciding not to push her further, nodded and looked away. They sat in silence for a while and it was almost companionable, the two of them enjoying the wildness of the garden. It reminded her of many things, but she closed her thoughts off to the memories. She'd been to many places, done many things, and punished many people, none of which bore another thought. At least not today.
"You've changed him, you know," Sam said carefully, breaking the silence. "Zac. He's different around you."
"How so?" she frowned. This was one of those things she didn't want to talk about.
"He cares about something other than himself," he laughed weakly, shaking his head.
Aya grunted, pulling her knees up to her chin, feeling uneasy about what Sam hinted at. Zac had been through enough without this. One day she would have to leave and he would be back at square one. Even she had enough heart not to do that to him.
"Aya," Sam said, picking up on her uneasiness. "It's a good thing."
"If you say so," she whispered, not believing him.
Zac had never been to Gabby's apartment before. It sat on the top floor of a complex of twelve similar places, six flights of stairs and no elevator. She must love the view, because the climb would have been a deal breaker.
They sat on the floor in the lounge, a silver bowl between them, the grimore off to the side. Gabby was chanting under her breath, eyes closed, a faraway look etched on her dark features. He hoped that this would help them find a way to end their founding witch problem once and for all. The lingering threat was wearing thin. They had already thwarted one attempt at Aya's life and they mightn't be so lucky the next time.
His thoughts were more troubled than usual. She was amazing. What she had done to Caius; that was something else. So much more than a regular vampire was capable of. What was she? Maybe when this was all over, she would give him some answers. And he had to find a way to tell her how he felt.
Focusing back on Gabby, he concentrated on the spell she was casting. She'd found an incantation in the grimore she hadn't been able to read until she met her grandmother. A spell for knowledge. It would reveal the path to the thing that they most desired. And, of course, that was bringing and end to Katrin. All of her previous attempts at seeking out the witch had been fruitless; attempts at finding what anchored her spirit to life had led to nothing.
The only reason Gabby had invited Zac into her apartment was the fact that he wanted Katrin to die a true death as much as she did. And that meant a better strike rate for the spell. He was connected on a personal level and so was she.
She had been muttering her incantation under her breath for ages and Zac was positive that it wasn’t working. She did seem different after everything that had happened at the silo, her increased power was blindingly obvious with the way she obliterated those witches. He’d never seen a witch do such a thing and he was glad that she was on their side. But, it didn’t help them right now. Nothing was happening.
Just as Zac was about to complain that she was taking too long, he felt the spell cloud his thoughts. That probably meant it was working.
Gabby smiled in relief, "I can see a way forward. But I need to speak to Aya."
When she mentioned Aya, Zac's expression slackened and his eyes went blank. Gabby waved her hand across his line of vision, but he didn't react. It took a moment before he came back from wherever it was he went. Blinking as Gabby came back into focus, he realized she had been shaking him. He groaned, holding his head in his hands.
"Zac, what is it?" Gabby said, concern in her voice.
"She fucking compelled me!" he roared, knocking the bowl across the room. It clattered to the floor loudly, its contents spilling everywhere. Gabby scrambled backwards, suddenly aware of being in the same room as an angry vampire.
"Who?" she whispered, afraid of provoking him.
"Aya! Fucking Aya!" he was on his feet, pacing back and forth, thinking about what he would do. He forgot that Gabby was in the room he was so intent on his thoughts. He roared again and left the apartment in a whirlwind of fury, leaving Gabby shaking on the floor.
Aya liked to sit in the study. She knew it irritated Zac, but he had stopped asking her not to ages ago. It felt comforting, especially after her earlier conversation with Sam. She spun the globe in the corner, running her finger along the surface, waiting to see where it would land once it came to a stop. Katrin wouldn’t try anything right away, not after she’d killed another of her so-called children. Her finger landed on France. She had been in France before coming to America.
She could hear the tell tale hum that announced Zac had come home. He was in the doorway looking at her. "Hello," she said, not turning around, spinning the globe again. When he didn't answer straight away, she knew he was angry.
"I was just with Gabby," he said, restraining the anger in his voice.
"Were you now?" she smiled to herself. Her finger landed in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.
"I helped her cast a spell." He was cracking.
"And what kind of spell did she cast?" The globe spun again.
"A knowledge spell." The tone in his voice unsettled her.
"Be. More. Specific." She disregarded the globe, allowing it to spin freely.
"A spell to find the knowledge to obtain what one desires the most." He was right behind her now, his gaze burning into her back.
Aya stiffened, "And what happened?"
"Gabby learnt a way to stop Katrin. She needs to speak to you."
Turning her head slightly, she said, "And what did you learn?"
He grabbed her shoulder and turned her around abruptly, pushing her back against the wall.
Her expression darkened in warning, but Zac ignored it. "I remember everything," he snarled, holding her in place across her chest with his arm.
Aya's eyes misted over into shimmering pearls and she pushed him across the room. He collided with the opposite wall, his shoulder leaving a hole in the plaster. He fell to the floor with a grunt, but she was there, picking him up by his shirt. "If you remember everything, then you know it was all for your own good," she spat, dropping him on his face.
Zac was back on his feet in a second, "After everything that's happened, how could you compel me?"
"I saved your life, Zac."
"Only from the werewolves."
Aya closed her eyes, trying to control her anger, "I also saved you from me. You saw what happened to them when I lost control. You saw what I did to Caius."
The anger faded from his face into one of surprise. "I don't believe you."
"Then you are a fool. You've only seen the smallest part of me. The smallest part of the monster I truly am. No one could love a walking horror such as I."
Zac was dumbfounded. After all they had gone through together, he had felt that he had become closer to her than ever. He knew there were parts of her life that he would never know, she was two thousand years old, but he refused to believe the things she was telling him. He'd never felt anything like what he felt for Aya. Seeing her angry and in pain, it tore him apart. He thought back to the night they had spent in the motel, the way she had kissed him. And when he'd healed her wounds in the silo, she had gazed up at him with such tenderness. She felt the same, she had to.
"You can compel the memories from me, Aya, but you can't compel away my feelings," he said evenly.
"Get out!" she yelled at him.
"Aya, please," he whispered.
She stared at him with a wild look in her eyes, "Leave."